This lesson guides students through the steps to choosing an appropriate broad topic and how to narrow that to something more specific and researchable.

Students begin by learning brainstorming techniques. They then watch a quick video, followed by instructions on how to narrow and broaden a topic, as necessary. Quiz questions focus on broad/narrow topics and how to decide what works best.

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This lesson guides students through the beginning stages of research, focusing on subject encyclopedias and other reference sources.

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This lesson teaches students how to create an effective argumentative thesis statement for a research paper. It begins with instructional material about what makes an effective thesis statement, and then uses a case study to demonstrate the thesis-drafting process.

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This lesson teaches students how to identify and use peer-reviewed (scholarly) sources. It uses case studies, examples, and a video to help students learn what a peer reviewed source is, and why it is an appropriate type to use in academic research. The lesson also provides tips for reading complex material.

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This lesson educates students on different kinds of sources, and how to pick the ones most appropriate for academic research.

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These lessons teach students how to properly paraphrase, summarize, and directly quote material. It uses quiz questions to test students understanding of citations, as well as other instructional material, and a video. Students taking this lesson will learn how to incorporate sources into their papers. Choose either the APA or MLA format.

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